


She's so weird.

by addycted



Category: Ghostbusters (2016), ghostbusters 2016
Genre: Alternate Universe - Normal High School, Bullying, Childhood, High School, Jillian Holtzmann as a teenager, Mentor/Protégé, One Shot, Sweet, Very brief mention of fathers death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-23 12:37:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10719486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/addycted/pseuds/addycted
Summary: "She's such a weirdo," but that's why the world needs her.A one shot to explore how Holtzmann met Dr Gorin and their mentor/protégé relationship began.{Requested by anonymous via my GB2016 tumblr, @mckittenkat.}





	She's so weird.

**Author's Note:**

> "Anonymous: hi can I request a story about young holtzmann , like high school age?? Thank u and feel better !" 
> 
> Of course you can sweet anon, I hope you enjoy this :)!

High school is difficult for everyone, even for those who manage to find their tribe, or maybe just one or two supportive friends. High school for Holtzmann was a whole other boardgame.

Holtzmann, just shy of her 16th birthday, found herself thrown into a world of social rules and regulations that she had never even believed existed. Home schooling has many benefits for a student like Holtz, but preparing her for the social heir achy of high school was definitely not one of them. 

Holtz spent most of her time in the science department, alone, aside from the odd technician and teacher, working on a series of never ending projects; solar powered lasers, chemical detectors and alarm systems. This, coupled with her blatant inability to dress in a "fashionable" way, lead to Holtz being the target of every joke and insult her peers could think of. 

"What's wrong with your hair?" 

"Why are you so messy and dirty?"

"She's such a weirdo," 

Initially, Holtz found this pressure easy to deal with. She had an immensely strong sense of self for someone so young, and her inner confidence carried her through embarrassing situation after embarrassing situation. But the weeks came and went. Months passed by, one, two, three, her sixteenth birthday, the anniversary of her dad's death, the time kept rolling and Holtz found herself unable to keep up with something for the first time ever. 

That week started normally, with Holtz resoldering some blown circuit boards in the morning before her lessons, earphones in listening to upbeat 80s music, her hands working fluidly. She had the entire physics dry lab to herself this early, and it was one of the only moments of clarity she seemed to have in her suddenly hectic life. So when a tall, odd looking woman with welding goggles in her hair and thick gloves on her hands walked in to the lab and looked surprised to see a student, Holtz jumped and burnt her fingers with the soldering iron. 

"Gloves arent just for dudes," the odd woman said, pulling a pair of work gloves out or her duster coat. "Run your hands under that tap, put these on," she continued, throwing the gloves at Holtzmann, who caught them without thinking. Holtz pulled out her earphones and observed the woman. 

"What? Am I on fire again?" The woman asked, a genuine tone to her voice. For the first time in 6 months, someone finally made sense in this school! Holtz shook her head and offered out her hand.

"Holtzmann, student, lover of pringles and electrical equipment," she smiled. 

The woman shook her hand, and replied in the same over enthusiastic manor, "Dr Gorin, sister of Mr Gorin who teaches high school physics, avid skier and lover of safely goggles." 

Holtz knew that Mr Gorin had a sister, he'd mentioned her briefly in passing while they worked on remote controlled robots and experimented with materials. In person Dr Gorin was magnificent. 

"Nice handshake," Dr Gorin said, looking down at Holtz. "I've heard that you want to study nuclear engineering, is that right?" She asked.

Holtz, oddly nervous, and maybe even a little embarrassed, offered a quiet yes as she shuffled around on her feet. "But I know I won't ever get through an interview, I'd need a scholarship and I know I am not good enough with other people to talk my way into one," Holtz spoke monotonously and awkwardly before making a guttural noise to finish, her discomfort clear in the way she wouldn't meet Dr Gorin's eyes. 

Dr Gorin nodded quietly, and began to search her duffle bag for something. "Read this," she said, pulling out a battered book, "and write me an essay on the legitimacy of the science,." Dr Gorin handed Holtz a well used copy of "Ghosts from Our Past,". 

"I've never heard of these scientists?" Holtz whispered more to herself than Dr Gorin as she examined the book. Dr Gorin chuckled lightly but not in a condensending way. 

"You won't have, Holtzmann, this is the only copy of their work that wasn't burnt by one of the authors. At the time of its writing, they weren't much older or more educated than you are now," Dr Gorin paused to look at Holtzmann, "don't be afraid to be critical, because everything we build we build up from the foundation that is theory. If the theory is wrong-"

"The build is wrong," Holtzmann interrupted, suddenly excited for the first time since starting high school. 

Dr Gorin nodded, the hint of a smile playing about her lips. She stood up straighter and took one final look around the classroom, before looking back to Holtzmann. "You worry about high-school, and I'll worry about college." 

Holtzmann could only nod, her heart racing and her mind whirring. Just as Dr Gorin was about to Leave, she turned back, and said some final words that resonated with Holtzmann so completely she felt like she was going to cry or explode.

"Oh and Jillian, the kids in this school are right about one thing. You are weird. But that's exactly why science needs you."


End file.
